


Gear Up

by Wowie_whoa



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), Gay Shiro (Voltron), I'm trying my best, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Steampunk, angst? maybe?, first chapter is mostly backstory, lance has a mechanical leg, mechanic keith, some characters dont show up till second chapter, yeet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-05-15 19:19:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wowie_whoa/pseuds/Wowie_whoa
Summary: after being captured by the galra when his last mission ended in disaster, Lance is finally back with the rebel forces of Voltron. But in the years he's been gone, some things have changed, starting with a new, violet-eyed, mullet haired member.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> bear with me, it's mostly backstory

“Fuck.”

Lance’s breath created clouds in the already foggy air. Shouts and sirens wailed through the streets, the pouring rain did nothing to muffle the chaos. A blimp’s spotlight cut through the murky darkness, sweeping over buildings and illuminating copper and brass signs.

~

He had been twelve when they came. An automobile driving down the cobbled street. He ran to the front window of the antique shop his parents owned, mushing his nose and cheeks against the glass to get a better view of the machine. His lips pulled upward as he imagined Hunk’s face when Lance told him he saw an automobile up so close. The trumpets of the radio trilled in the background, mixing with the chuckle from his mother at his excitement. She walked to the window, placing a hand on his shoulder gently. “What has made little Lance so starry eyed hm?” She said softly, peering through the window. Her hand tightened on Lance’s shoulder and he looked up at her face in confusion. Her lips, usually spread wide in a warm smile, were set in a grimace. “They’ve come,” she said loudly, her voice echoing through the store. Everything that happened after that was a blur. Lance’s father came running from the back, knocking over vases and paintings in his hurry. His mother knelt so her hazel eyes are staring directly into his blue ones. 

“Lance, listen to me very carefully. Things are going to get confusing and you may hear things that frighten you. But don’t come out, don’t you move a muscle, for your own safety.” Tears welled in her eyes, taking Lance by surprise. The only time he had ever seen his mother cry was the day the men came to tell them about Mateo. 

“There’s not enough time,” his father said quietly, almost regretfully, like it was his fault the time was running out. There was an unspoken conversation between the two adults before his mother stood up and pulled him into her arms. Lance was still too stunned to speak as she hurried into the back workshop, setting him down to push a wardrobe to the side. There, behind the wardrobe, was a small crawl space, too dark for it to look anything but scary. 

“Mama..?” His voice quivered as he tugged on on her arm, “What’s happening?” 

She was still crying, her shoulders shook in silent sobs as tears streamed down her face. Lance didn’t know what to do, a feeling of helplessness weighing him down. 

“You’ll understand soon enough, I’m sorry I can’t explain but please don't leave until you’re sure they’re gone.” She grasped him in a tight hug, her tears making his shirt damp. “ I love you so much, never forget that mijo.” 

A shout broke out from the shop and before Lance could utter a word his mother stood up quickly. She put a finger to her lips and ushered him into the cramped space. “ Don’t be scared Lance.” Her smile was a beautiful one, even with her tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes. It was a warm and loving smile and Lance tried to speak up before it was too late. He opened his mouth in a desperate attempt to say something, anything, but the door closed and darkness surrounded him. 

Lance didn’t know how much time had past. He heard muffled shouts and something that sounded terrifyingly like a gunshot. He willed himself not to burst from the cupboard to see what was happening to his family. Instead, he hugged his knees to his chest and quivered. The inky black air suffocating him as strangled sobs were absorbed by the darkness. 

Silence. Only the sound of a heart beating much too fast and shaky shallow breaths. Lance had awoken in a state of confusion, his neck ached and panic swelled in his chest as he realized he could barely move. The panic only increased as what he assumed was last night's events came flooding back. The automobile, his mother’s heartbroken smile, the screams and the shouts. Lance choked on a sob and held his head in his hands as the shaking started again. It was quiet now and that meant it was supposedly safe outside, so he was going to have to get out. He fumbled for the door with still quaking hands, pushing against the walls until one of them moved slightly. He added more pressure and pushed the door open, the afternoon light streaming in and making his eyes hurt. Slowly he crawled out, his head pounded and his legs throbbed with every step. The room was messy, it always had been but now shelves were knocked over and desks were overturned. Papers littered the floor and a cracked family picture lay at Lance’s feet. 

He looked towards the open door that led into the shop. He couldn’t stay, not here. Lance started towards the door, he peered around the frame, preparing himself for the worst. It wasn’t pretty. All the knick knacks that they had collected throughout the years were scattered across the floor in broken pieces. Paintings were slashed and machines were smashed. He felt numb. There was nothing left for him here. Nothing but broken parts of his childhood. 

He had to leave. He trudged out into the street. All the people walking by, all the shops right next to the now broken building. They had to have seen it, it was impossible not to. Impossible in the crowded lower half of the city. Yet no one had helped, not one person. His family was gone, his home ruined, and the most anyone did was cast worried glances towards the shattered glass. Lance stared at the people bustling down the street, he wanted to scream, wanted to ask them why. But that part was obvious, they were afraid. Afraid of the men in the automobile. He could see it in their eyes when they looked in his direction then hurriedly averted their eyes. They were cowards. 

Lance shook his head, not cowards, rational. If anyone had tried to help, the men probably would’ve taken them too. Even knowing this, he couldn’t help but feel betrayed. But he had to push away the bitter emotion. He didn’t have time to wallow in grief or anger. 

Lance stumbled down the street in the direction of Hunk’s house. His feet moved on their own, the way to the rundown apartment ingrained into his memory. He and Hunk had known each other since their early childhoods, and the restaurant beneath Hunk’s apartment was like a second home to him. 

As he neared the shabby building, the familiar smell of cooking meats wafted through the air. Normally he would have entered through the restaurants doors, chatting with the cooks and servers that had worked there for as long as he could remember. Instead he walked past the sounds of clattering plates and laughter and made his way to the back door that lead straight to the apartment. 

The door to Hunks apartment was almost never locked, his family not seeing the need to when they were only a staircase away. Most crooks would give up anyway after trying to open the incredibly stubborn door that required more than a good shove to open. Lance gripped the knob tightly and twisted it while simultaneously pushing against the wooden monstrosity with his shoulder. The door burst open after his third attempt, opening onto a small hallway that was crowded with shoes and umbrellas. 

Lance nudged past the mess and peeked around the corner into the living room. There was no one lounging on the leather couch that was too comfortable and the lights had been switched off. Lance sighed dejectedly, it looked like he was going to have to check the restaurant after all. He walked past the living room and into the small kitchen; that was where the other entrance to the apartment was, with a door that actually worked and a staircase right to the back of the restaurant. 

The door swung open, barley missing Lance as he stumbled back with a startled noise. Hunk stood in the doorway, his face breaking into a grin when he saw Lance. “ Hey Lance! I was wondering when I was going to find you skulking in my kitchen.” He teased lightheartedly. 

At the sight of his best friend’s warm smile, Lance’s emotions bubbled to the surface again. He tried to return Hunk’s smile but all he could manage was a watery replica. One look at Lance’s distressed face and Hunk’s smile was instantly replaced with a worried look. “ What’s wrong?” Hunk moved closer, shutting the door behind him and putting a comforting hand on Lance’s shoulder. 

Tears filled Lance’s eyes and blurred his vision. He tried to formulate a sentence but all he could muster was a broken sob. Hunk immediately embraced him, muttering reassuring words and leading him to the couch. “What happened?” Hunk asked with concern. 

After a few hiccupy breaths Lance had calmed down enough to tell Hunk what had happened. As he talked, he couldn’t help the great shuddering breaths he had to take to keep from crying yet again. Hunk’s face paled as he listened to Lance. It was quiet after Lance finished, the only sound a muffled chatter from the restaurant downstairs. 

“ I am so so sorry.” Hunk looked at Lance with a glisten to his eyes as he spoke. He enveloped Lance in a hug, and for the first time since yesterday, he felt safe. “ Lance, we need to tell my parents, I know they can help. This is pretty bad, but just because your family is gone doesn’t mean we can’t get them back.” Hunk rocked on his heels as he leaned away so he could look Lance eye to eye.

“We’re going to get them back.” 

~

It had been five years since Lance’s family had been taken by the men. The men were from the galra; the government that controlled everything in the massive city of Altea, they ruled unfairly and didn’t care about anyone under their reign. There were three kinds of people in the metropolis, the higher ups, they were either part of the galra or in league with them. The majority, most of the people living there that passively took the unfair treatment. Then there were the rebels, the small amount of people that were tired of being treated the way they were. The rebels came out from the cracks and crevices of the smoky city. They called themselves Voltron, the underbelly of the city that would one day overthrow their dictators. 

The galra had learned that Lance’s family had been a part of Voltron and had sent the men that had taken his family away. Since the day he had wandered to Hunk’s house after his was destroyed, that was the start of everything. It turned out Hunk’s parents were also part of Voltron. After Hunk had told them Lance’s story, they immediately took the two boys to the meeting place of Voltron. 

That was the day Lance and Hunk were officially welcomed to the rebel forces. At the Voltron official meeting place, a dimly lit jazz club called the Five Lions. where the forces everyone met to discuss plans. 

Ever since that day, Lance had been continuously planning to free his family from the grasp of the galra. Finally he had come up with a plan stupid enough to work. It was a singular mission, despite everyone offering to help him, he would always decline. He had to be the one to save his family, it seemed wrong for anyone but him to rescue them. 

It was a particularly smoky night, the smog rising from multiple golden pipes and copper chimneys clouding the air. Lance hugged Hunk before he left, “ You’ve got this buddy.” Hunk said into Lance’s hair as he squeezed him tightly.

Lance withdrew from the embrace, smiling from ear to ear, “ Better prepare for a whole lot of Mcclain, cause I’m bringing them home.” He started walking backwards into the darkness, flashing his signature finger guns before the murky black swallowed his determined grinning face. 

The plan was simple, sneak in, get his family, sneak out. It was also on the agenda to gloat a considerable amount after said plan was completed without trouble. 

Lance took a map out of his satchel, scanning it quickly as he walked. He had memorized it before the mission, but it gave him something to focus on rather than let his thoughts get out of control. It was a stroke of luck when a galra officer had accidentally left it in a tavern that Lance was a regular at. Without it, the whole thing would be almost impossible. 

The massive building where his family were being kept towered above the others. Pipes covered the structure, some letting off clouds of steam into the air. Lance took out the gun from the holster around his leg, “ Just hang in there a little bit longer, I’m coming.” He said quietly before swiftly running to a vent at the base of the galra lab. 

After crawling through the twisting ventilation system, Lance had arrived in a smaller section of the lab. According to the map, if he followed the hallway to the left he would come upon the prisoner cells. 

The hallway was narrow and Lance stayed pressed against the wall as he snuck through. He was on edge, every sound drew cold sweat and anxious thoughts. Endless scenarios played out through his mind, each one worse than the last. He reached the end of the corridor, supposedly he would find his family down the prisoner hall. Nerves clashed in Lance’s stomach as he walked past empty and full cells. Eyes peered at him from inside blackened cells, but to his relief, none of them called for a guard. 

He was sure that the prisoners were guarded by some tough galra officer. He tightened the grip on his gun, hands clammy as he headed down the hall.

Lance stopped at the sound of footsteps echoing against the metal floor. Panic swelled in his chest and he ducked behind a crate against the wall. The footsteps grew louder and Lance risked a look over the top of the crate. 

A galra soldier was approaching, Lance ducked back down. He steeled himself as he took a calming breath, getting ready to spring up. Lance stood up quickly, the soldier made a startled noise and reached for his own gun. His hand went limp before he reached it. The soldier crumpled to the ground, Lance’s bullet still embedded between his eyes. 

Lance couldn’t help but smile. “ That’s what you get for messing with a sharpshooter.” He said, stepping over the guard’s body and spinning his gun in his hand.

Lance continued down the hallway, he was starting to get anxious again. Shouldn’t he have found them by now? What if the map was left behind on purpose, was this a trap? Had the galra killed his family? There it was, the thought that he had tried so hard to keep out. But no matter how hard he tried it was always at the back of his mind. He gave his head a quick shake, he had to believe they were still alive. They had to be. 

Lance looked up just in time to avoid walking into a wall. He was at the end of the hallway. They weren’t there. He had failed them. All the emotions he had tried to suppress bubbled to the surface, breaking through the makeshift wall of positive thoughts that kept him from breaking down. Lance fell to his knees, “I’m sorry,” he cried, tears falling to the cold floor. Above him, the dim light flickered, casting shadows on the grieving boy. 

From within the darkened cell beside him came a muffled sound. Lance looked up, tears obscuring his vision as he squinted towards the cell. 

“Lance…?” 

Lanced wrenched his neck as he whipped it towards the voice. 

There, coming into the faded light, was his mother. 

“Mama..” Lance half choked half whispered as he stumbled to his feet, leaning heavily on the rusty bars to cup his mother’s face in his shaking hands. 

And she was cupping his and her smile was wide, so wide her tears couldn’t escape the massive grin and were clinging to her lips. And Lance’s own cheeks were wet and he mumbled incoherent things in Spanish as she simply gazed at him, taking in every detail of his face.

His father, and brother, and sisters stepped out from the shadows as well and Lance’s heart swelled with a feeling that had been snatched away with them.

exuberance and love flooded his limbs and twinkled in his eyes. And it was reflected in his mother’s eyes as she stroked his face. 

“You came mijo.” 

Lance laughed, it was a light sound filled with joy that danced through the air like a gust of warm wind. “Of course I did mama.” 

Lance reluctantly withdrew his hands from his mother’s face. “ You saved me from the galra, now it’s my turn to save you.” 

The lock on the cell door was easily picked, at least for someone with as much skill as Lance. As soon as the door was open, everyone ran out to envelop Lance in a gigantic group hug. He laughed and buried his face into the clump of bodies. In this one moment, everything was perfect. Nothing mattered other than holding his family as tight as he could.

The reunion was cut short as a clatter echoed through the passageway. Lance tensed,“ We have to go, stay behind me.” He said quietly, the warmth leaving his body as he withdrew from the embrace.

The air was tense as they walked, the dark cells foreboding and the shadows writhing. 

As they neared the body of the soldier Lance shot, a figure grew closer.

Lance heard the gun cock before he saw it, “ get down!” He yelled, crouching low and praying his family would do the same. 

The bang from the shot hurt his ears; and before a second, more accurate, shot was fired, Lance jumped up and shot at the galra soldier.

The soldier fell to the floor with a thump and Lance beckoned for his family to keep moving.  
“I let them hurt you once, I won’t let it happen again.” Lance said over his shoulder as they reached the corridor leading to the lab. 

They were so close, the galra lab had an emergency exit, in case an experiment went extremely wrong. The exit was locked from the outside, but it opened automatically, if the lab alarm was sounded. 

Lance stopped as they entered the lab, turning to face his family, “ the galra may be terrible, but they have a pretty good safety system. They have an alarm triggered by something dangerous being broken or if enough lab equipment is destroyed. Then that door will open and we have to run as fast as we can. Lance paused and opened his satchel, pulling out two wrenches. “ So, in the words of great grand papy, let’s fuck some shit up!” 

Lance handed one of the wrenches to his sister and, after the quietest war cry he could manage, searched for something important looking to smash. A gigantic vial full of neon green bubbling liquid caught his eye and he grinned as he strode over. 

He looked back to his sister, who was whacking a pulley system of gears with a gigantic grin much like his own. “ I’m pretty sure this will take the cake so you guys go stand by the door,” He said, laughing as his sister groaned in disappointment.

Lance turned his attention back to the vial, “ it’s razzle dazzle time,” he said swinging the wrench at the glass. A crack appeared where he hit, and after the second swing it was seeping liquid. “ Third time's the charm,” he said with a grunt as he hit the glass with all his might. 

The crack spread, seeping turning into spraying. The sound of glass breaking was slowly getting louder and Lance sprinted towards the door. The vial shattered, a wave of liquid crashing to the floor, melting lab equipment and the floor alike.

An alarm started blaring and the door opened with a click, shouts could be heard as they ran from the building. Lance let out a woop of joy as he followed his family out into the street. He had done it, his plan had worked and now his family was free. 

As they ran through the street he looked back at the now smoking door to the lab with satisfaction. Two galra men tripped through the door, they looked up at him and even from far away he could see the hatred in their eyes. 

“ Some are after us, go into the alleyways!” Lance shouted as he sped up as much as his legs would allow. 

They swerved into one of the narrow alleyways, it was easy to lose someone with the many pathways and dead ends. 

As they turned a corner Lance glanced over his shoulder to see if the soldiers were still trailing them. They were. 

“Go on ahead, don’t stop till you’re safe,” Lance called, “ I’ll be right behind you.” 

He stopped, turning to face the incoming galra. 

“Fuck you,” Lance said, firing his gun at the nearest soldier. He let out a cry as the bullet struck his chest and he fell to the ground. Lance moved his aim to the second galra, pulling the trigger. The gun clicked, Lance cursed, of course it was now of all times that he ran out of bullets.

“Foolish boy,” laughed the galra man, smirking as he raised his gun.

Lance had little time to react, before he could run a searing pain exploded in his leg. He looked down, vision blurring, at the dart in his leg. Numbness crawled up through his body, weighing down his limbs until he was collapsed on the ground. “For the revolution,” he rasped before his vision went black.

The galra government didn’t take lightly to having their reputation tarnished by anyone, let alone a mere boy. So when after the escape Lance had pulled, they took great pleasure in catching him. Of course just catching him wasn’t good enough, they had to torture and augment his body too. They replaced one of his legs with a bionic one, a sick way of showing ownership of him. Everyday that he woke up a prisoner, every single day he told himself it was worth it. And it was, knowing his family was safe got him through three years of pain and suffering. 

Shortly after his 20th birthday a different worker came to wake him up. The usual bucket of ice-cold water was replaced with gentle shaking. “Lance, Lance!” A soft but desperate voice hissed. He opened his tired eyes and winced at the bright light shining directly in his face. 

He slowly sat up, shielding his face. “Whs’t?” He asked groggily, peering through his fingers as his eyes adjusted to his surroundings. It was dark, say for the painfully bright glow of a… lantern? 

“Listen, we don’t have much time. I know you’re confused but you’re going to have to trust me.” The speaker took Lance’s hand and pulled him to his feet. 

Lance stumbled as he tried to assess the situation, which was hard considering he hadn’t fully woken up yet. He gave his head a little shake, finally taking a good look at the person holding the lantern. 

There was a tall girl standing before him. She had a bob that stuck up in some places, her bangs cut short. Her skin was dark and the expression on her face reminded him of someone he knew. Her face was wrinkled in concern; the light from the lantern casting shadows on her furrowed brow and Lance noticed the way she shifted from foot to foot as if anxious. “Who are you?” Lance asked in a hushed tone. 

In response she grabbed his wrist and rushed through the unlocked door of his room. “ I’m Shay, a friend of Hunk’s,” she said. She stopped at a corridor branching two different ways, “ He started planning this before I even joined Voltron two years ago. I’m getting you out of here,” she added quietly before turning right, still pulling a stunned Lance behind her. 

Lance tried to wrap his brain around this new information. “ You're getting me out?” He paused, the gears of his mind turning. “How?” 

“ Ever since you broke your family out, the galra have had higher security, they only change the guards once a day. That’s where we come in, the soldiers that guard this area have to enter the building from outside. That’s the only time the door isn’t locked.” Shay explained, not stopping as she pulled out a pocket watch from her coat. “We have to hurry, they change in 5 minutes.” 

They rounded a corner and came face to face with two galra guards. Lance paled, and started to backup down the hall, but Shay didn’t even flinch. Instead she ran at the guards, so fast that they had no time to raise their guns and fire. She slid between them, then stood and smashed her fists down on their heads. They crumpled to the ground immediately, and Lance, who had been standing still in shock, let out a triumphant yell.

“That was so kickass!” Lance exclaimed, bouncing over to where Shay was standing. 

She smiled sheepishly, “ thanks, I train with Hunk a lot.” Before Lance could waggle his eyebrows she looked at her watch again, eyes widening. “ We’ve got to go, we’re almost out of time.” 

Shay grabbed Lance’s wrist and bolted down the hallway, “ when the door opens I’m going to distract the guards, that’ll give you a little time to get away. Go into the alleyways, someone will be there to take you to back to Voltron.” Shay said, glancing back at Lance. He nodded, mouth dry as they neared the metal door leading to the outside world. 

Shay gestured for Lance to step back, “stay out of their view.” She said, stepping forward in anticipation of the galra soldiers. 

“Thank you.” Lance said softly, not even knowing if she heard him before the door opened and she leapt into action. 

As soon as the door opened she had punched one of the unsuspecting guards. There was a cry of alarm followed by the sound of footsteps and more shouting. 

Lance swallowed his doubts, and after taking a deep breath, sprinted out the door into the night. 

Rain splattered onto his face and for a second he was frozen. A laugh bubbled up from his throat; after years of being trapped inside the musty prison, he was finally out. The rain caressed his face and the wind ruffled his hair and oh god he was free. 

Lance could’ve stood there forever, arms outstretched and grinning up at the crying sky like a maniac. His trance was broken, however, by shout that sounded too close for comfort. 

Lance took off running through the street. The cobblestones were slippery with water and he nearly slipped countless times. After entering the twisting labyrinth of alleyways, Lance stopped to catch his breath. At this point word of his escape had spread, Lance could hear shouts and see lights breaking through the fog. 

“Fuck.”

Lance’s breath created clouds in the already foggy air. Shouts and sirens wailed through the streets, the pouring rain did nothing to muffle the chaos. A blimp’s spotlight cut through the murky darkness, sweeping over buildings and illuminating copper and brass signs.

It dawned on Lance that if the person who was supposedly sent to help him wasn’t coming, he would be easily caught. He shook his head, he had to try. The galra wouldn’t get him back without a fight. 

A roaring sound interrupted his thoughts. Lance felt panic overtake his limbs, he frantically looked for a place to hide in the narrow alleyway. The only place was an alcove in the wall where a door was. Lance pressed himself up against the door, hoping he wouldn’t be found. 

The roaring grew louder, as it neared, a loud ticking could be heard. The sound stopped, Lance was suddenly aware of how loud his pounding heart was. A figure came into his limited vision. Due to the darkness, all Lance could make out was the helmet on their head. He tensed, watching them closely as they walked into the middle of the alleyway. 

There was a moment of complete stillness from both sides, then the figure turned to look right at Lance. Lance’s eyes widened, he barely had time to think before the silhouette was swiftly walking towards him. Lance’s panic increased every step closer the figure got. Just as the shadow was within arms reach, Lance did the first thing that popped into his head. He punched the figure. Right on their metal helmet. 

They stumbled back in surprise, leaving Lance with his now throbbing hand. “motherfucking shit fucker with a fucking helmet god fucking damn!” He swore, shaking his hand vigorously. 

“What the fuck?” 

Lance stopped his shaking to look up at the figure, who had now removed their helmet. Lance was close enough now to see that it was a guy, his face pulled into a frown and his hair— wait. His hair was a godforsaken mullet. Those had gone out of style before Lance had even been captured. 

Lance smiled awkwardly, “oops?” He supplied, clutching his injured hand. 

The boy looked bewildered, “oops? Really? You just punched the guy coming to rescue you.” He said and if his face weren’t masked by shadow, Lance could’ve sworn his lips were set in a pout. 

Although mullet head was making a good point, Lance felt like he had to defend his actions. “Well maybe if you had said something I wouldn’t have thought you were galra.” He argued, crossing his arms defiantly. 

The boy’s eyebrows slid up, disappearing into his heavy bangs. He followed in suit, crossing his arms and looking Lance up and down. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of commotion. “Just come on, we have to get out of here.” He ordered impatiently,  
gesturing for Lance to follow him. 

He stopped in front of a machine Lance had never seen before. It was long with two wheels on each end. Bronze handles decorated one end, complete with a compass in the middle. Under the seat that stretched from side to side, were a network of pipes and wires. Keith hopped on, pulling a lever near the front. It started swaying back and forth, a ticking sound growing louder the faster it went. Steam billowed out of the sides and the boy looked at Lance expectantly. “What, have you never seen a bike before?” 

Lance swallowed, shaking his head. 

“Huh. Well get on, you’re about to ride one.” The boy said, placing his helmet back on and patting the space behind him. 

Lance hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should trust the boy and his bike.

“ Do you wanna get left behind?” mullet head huffed, revving the engine.

Lance stuck out his tongue, but sat on the bike regardless, waiting for something to happen.

“You’re going to have to hold on if you don’t want to fly off and defeat the purpose of this whole mission.” Said the boy, his voice muffled by the helmet. 

Lance furrowed his brow, scooting closer and tentatively wrapping his arms around the stranger’s waist. A second later, the boy pulled another lever opposite the already ticking one. A guttural sound spouted from under Lance and suddenly they were moving. 

Lance tightened his grip in surprise. The noise grew to a roaring as they picked up speed. The walls of the alleyways sped by as they drove. A few turns and they broke out of the twisting lanes, the bike swerving into an open street. The lights of lanterns and shops blurred together, creating a dazzling display. And when Lance raised his head, he could see the vast array of stars. 

It was exhilarating. But at the same time it was terrifying. Lance felt so fragile, as if with one touch and he would be knocked off so easily. He subconsciously gripped tighter, grinning despite the butterflies fluttering in his stomach. 

Soon the landscape started to get familiar, Lance recognized Hunk’s family restaurant. He craned his neck, watching it go by, he was finally home. 

After a few turns, they pulled up behind the 5 Lions Cafe. Lance could feel jittery excitement coursing through his veins like caffeine. He was practically vibrating as the boy pulled the levers again and the engine stopped. 

He took of his helmet and glanced at Lance, “ you can, uh, let go now.” He said awkwardly, looking down at Lance’s arms still wrapped around his waist. 

Lance blinked, then withdrew his arms, “ ah sorry,” he said quickly. 

There was a moment of silence before the boy got off the bike, “ I’m Keith, by the way.” He said, scratching the back of his neck. 

Lance hopped of the bike, “the name’s Lance,” he said, shooting Keith a hesitant smile.

Keith’s lips tilted, “ I know, I was kinda assigned to save your ass.” He said before turning and opening the door on the wall, “catch you later.”

Lance frowned at the mullet disappearing into the building. Why’d they have to send someone like that to rescue him? Lance would bet money that Keith was going to rub the rescue in his face more than once. 

But he didn’t have time to think about that. Through the door was his friends and family. Just the thought brought a smile to Lance’s face. He could barely contain his excitement as he bounced through the still open door. 

The club was dim, although compared to the night sky it was easy for Lance to see his surroundings. He stood still for a moment, gazing around the room. It had barely changed, maybe a few new tables and a better piano, but it was familiar and it was home. A hum of chatter filled the air, the usual band missing from the stage, leaving the room seeming small and quiet. 

A voice rose above the others, “ Keith! Did you get him? Where is he?” 

Lance immediately recognized the voice, he craned his neck, searching for the speaker. He saw the dark hair of Keith, who was pointing in his direction, then Hunks head poking through the crowd.

“Lance!” Hunk raced towards him, enveloping him in a tight hug. Lance laughed as the air in his lungs was squeezed out. 

“Hunk,” he managed to wheeze out, “can’t breathe.”

Hunk let go, looking apologetic, “ sorry I just got excited.” 

Hunk hadn’t really changed in the years Lance had been absent. He had grown taller sure, and his hair was long enough now that he needed a headband to keep it from getting into his eyes. But the warmth in his eyes hadn’t dimmed and his smiles were as bright as ever. Just looking at the sheepish smile adorning his best friend’s face filled Lance with comfort.

Lance’s grin was so wide that his face was starting to hurt. “ Don’t be sorry buddy, I missed you and your bone crushing hugs.”  
His tone took a soft turn, “ and thank you for saving me.”

Hunk shook his head, “ No worries, I know you would’ve done the same for me. Besides it was all thanks to Shay getting in there.” 

At the mention of Shay, Lance’s grin turned catlike, “ Shay was pretty badass. She said you trained her? She seemed pretty fond of you.

As expected, Hunks cheeks turned a deep shade of red, “ well I helped a bit but.” The more he spoke, the darker his cheeks grew, “ she practically taught me. She’s amazing.” He finished speaking, a soft smile on his lips.

Lance gave his friends shoulder a nudge, “ sounds like someone has a cruuuuuush,” he sang. Holding back laughter at the look on Hunk’s face. 

“What? N-no, we’re just friends!” 

Hunk’s stream of excuses were interrupted by the very girl they were talking about. Shay waved at the two as she came to stand beside the blushing Hunk. “ Hey! Lance! Glad you made it back,” she gave him a knowing smile, “ hopefully Keith was more pleasant than usual?”

Lance’s face turned sour, “ if that was him being pleasant, then I pity his friends.” 

Shay stifled a snort, “ you get used to it,” she said lightly. 

Hunk nodded, “ Yeah, I’ve been friends with you for years now and it took me a while to get used to you.” He said with a teasing smile. 

Lance took the opportunity to gasp dramatically, placing a hand to his chest with a wounded expression on his face. “ How dare you, you love me.” 

Shay laughed at the exchange, “ ooh you’ve got to tell me stories of when Hunk was little, I’m sure he was as cute as he is now.” Her eyes widened as she finished speaking, cheeks tinting as she realized what she had said. 

Lance burst into laughter— the two standing before him had to be the purest beans in the world. 

Hunk’s face was bright red, “ Allura wants to see you!” He blurted out loudly. 

“Alright, I’ll leave you two alone,” Lance hummed, winking at Hunk as he left the two blushing idiots behind. 

He elbowed his way through the crowd, smiling at familiar faces as he searched for Allura. 

Allura was the co owner of The Five Lions, along with Coran. Some of Lance’s favourite memories of the club were when they could convince Allura to go on stage and sing with the band. Her voice paired perfectly with the instruments and together they created a feeling of, as cheesy as it sounds, happiness. That feeling of a Saturday afternoon, carefree and warm, the responsibilities of life on pause. 

Lance couldn’t help but smile at the fond memory as he walked through the club. His gaze caught a flash of white hair near the bar. As he walked closer, his path was blocked by a chest suddenly appearing in front of his face. Lance took a startled step back, looking up at the man standing in front of him. The man was smiling down at Lance, there was a scar stretching across his otherwise flawless face. His hair was black, except for the strikingly white forelock that fell over his forehead. Lance’s eyes fell to the man’s arm, which was upon closer look, a mechanical one. His hand was wrapped around the arm of a disgruntled looking Keith. 

“Hello, I’m Shiro, Keith’s brother, and you must be Lance.” He said, holding out his free hand towards Lance.

Lance shook Shiro’s surprisingly strong hand, “ yup that’s me.” He said, returning Shiro’s welcoming smile.

“I’m glad the rescue worked,” Shiro gestured to his mechanical arm, “ I know how awful the galra are.” 

Lance pulled up his pant leg, exposing his mechanical leg, “ they sure like robotic things huh. I wish they’d get a different hobby.” Shiro chuckled and Lance smiled, noticing Keith was staring at his leg. He dropped the pant leg, feeling self conscious under the intense glare coming from the sullen boy. “ At least I got away before they messed with my face,” he joked, winking.

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed, although it was easily broken by Shiro. “ I’m glad Keith could help, he was excited for his first big mission.” He said, pulling Keith forward with a slight tug. Keith threw him a look, which he ignored, continuing to speak, “ but he can be a bit rude sometimes. He has something he’d like to say to you.” Shiro nudged the unhappy looking Keith, “ well, that’s your cue.”

Keith’s glare turned from Shiro to Lance. He crossed his arms, “ sorry for being rude,” he mumbled, frown increasing as he finished speaking.

Lance grinned, “ I suppose I’ll accept your apology,” he declared, setting his hands on his hips. “ But I might not be so forgiving if it happens again.” Lance was enjoying every minute of this, the look on Keith’s face was a beautiful sight. 

Keith narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, ready to snap back at Lance, only to be stopped by Shiro putting a hand on his shoulder. “ Thank you for being so understanding,” Shiro said with an amused look on his face. “We’ll let you go now, it was nice meeting you.” 

Lance nodded, “It was nice meeting you too,” he said, waving at the two as Shiro pulled the scowling Keith away. After they were gone he snickered to himself, he would have to thank Shiro later for making Keith apologize.

“Lance!” an unmistakable voice rang out, Lance swiveled to see Allura waving at him from the bar. Her white hair was as long as ever, cascading down her shoulders. It was a beautiful contrast to her dark skin. When Lance first joined Voltron, he had a massive crush on her. He would make a fool out of himself for her attention, it went on for some time until she gently turned him down. That had been a hard time for Lance, although now they could both laugh at his attempt.

“Allura!” He called back excitedly, and started to make his way over to her. He had taken about two steps before she leaped from her stool, and ran to him. Lance barely had time to process anything before she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. Despite Lance having grown a great amount in the past three years, she was still incredibly strong and slightly lifted him up. 

“It’s wonderful to see you!” she said with another squeeze.

“Missed you too, princess.” Lance said with a smile on his face, using the nickname he had given her back when he first joined.

She let go, pulling back to look him up and down with a smirk decorating her face. “I hope they didn't rough you up too much sharpshooter.” 

Lance shrugged, “ it’ll take more than that to take down Lance Mcclain.” He said, shooting her his famous finger guns.

Allura rolled her eyes, but her smile didn’t leave her face. “ Well they made a good effort, you look like shit. You must be exhausted. Go home, get some sleep, and maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll let you go on a mission tomorrow.” 

Allura’s words made Lance finally register how tired he felt, “ some beauty sleep does sound pretty good right now. But where would I sleep?” Lance used to have a room upstairs, so did a few members like Hunk and of course Allura and Coran. However he was sure it had been given to someone else in his absence.

Allura pushed him lightly, “ Your room is still upstairs, although due to new members we had to double rooms. But roommates are fun, I bet you two will have a blast!” She said, with almost too much excitement.

Lance arched a brow suspiciously, “ Do I know them?”

Allura gave him a wide grin, “why don’t you go see for yourself, you always liked surprises.” 

Lance let out a half hearted hmph, “if this is as bad as my 15th birthday surprise, I’m going back to the galra.” He said as walked towards the stairs.

“Hunk made that shark with love in his heart!” Allura called after him.

“Love doesn’t compensate for a deranged mechanical shark with a taste for Cubans let loose in my room!” Lance hollered back as he climbed the stairs. 

The sound of Allura’s laughter faded as he reached the second floor, a creaky hallway with doors leading into equally creaky rooms. It was rundown and shabby, but it was home. Lance traced the peeling wallpaper with his hand as he walked to the end of the hallway. The door to his room was as dirty as ever, the once golden number 6 now accompanied by an inked on 9 that 13 year old Lance had thought hilarious. 

He was about to open the door when he realized his roommate was probably already inside. Lance supposed it would be more polite to knock so at least he wouldn’t walk in on them doing something weird. He brought his knuckles to the wood, knocking lightly. There was a beat of silence, before a muffled grunt was heard.

The door opened, “Shiro, if I hear another fucking thing about the benefits of healthy eating I’m going to personally-” Keith stopped talking, his expression of annoyance turning into confusion, mirroring Lance’s own. “ What do you want?” He said, annoyance quickly returning to his face.“ If this is to gloat some more about the apology-”

Lance held up his hand, cutting Keith off from finishing his threat. “ Unfortunately, it’s not.” He sighed, “ apparently you’re my roommate.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance gets to go on his first mission since being captured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !!!!thank you again to my amazing friend aHHHhhHHH!!!!  
>  The first chapter was banter deprived so here you go

Lance sat on the hard wooden floor of  _ his  _ room. He glanced up to Keith, who was slouched on  _ his  _ bed, arms crossed and pout evident on his face. “It’s technically still my room, you should be grateful I’m letting you stay.” Lance mumbled, looking away.

“No, it’s mine. You left,” came Keith’s deadpan reply. 

Lance huffed indignantly, turning back to Keith. “I didn’t leave, I was captured.” 

Keith gave him a blank look. “And whose fault was that?”

“The galra,  _ duh _ .”  Lance said, frowning at what Keith was insinuating. 

Keith shrugged. “Whatever you say,” he said, yawning and turning so his back was facing Lance. “I’m tired from rescuing you, g’night.” 

Lance gaped at Keith’s back in outrage. There was no chance Keith actually thought he would sleep on the floor, not in his own room. “What? Wait, no no no.” He stood up, giving Keith a light shove. “I’m not sleeping on the floor.” 

 

* * *

 

 Keith grunted and rolled to face Lance, scrutinizing him with a scowl. Lance did look pretty rough. He had bags under his eyes, and his posture was tense. He had been gone 3 years, and Keith relented, supposing the least he could do was let Lance sleep in his own bed. 

Keith sighed, and reluctantly muttered, “fine, I’ll sleep on the floor.” Lance’s face lit up and he flopped on the bed, jostling Keith with the impact. “But,” Keith continued, “this is a one time thing.” He grabbed his pillow off the sheets and threw it on the floor with more force than necessary. 

The floor creaked as he lay down, trying to get comfy. It wasn’t that bad, compared to the other places Keith had to sleep in the past. “At least this isn’t as bad as the roof of the tallest skyscraper.” He said absentmindedly as he fluffed the pillow.

Lance laughed, “what moron would try to sleep on the roof of the Clolis tower?” 

“Oh, I did that last year,” Keith replied, then sighed as he struggled to get his pillow to the right shape.

There was a moment of shocked silence before Lance leaned over the bed to stare at Keith, mouth agape. “You did what??? How on earth did you manage that??” 

Keith shrugged, finally giving up and resting his head on the pillow. 

Lance gave him a incredulous stare. “You’re weird.” He said, shaking his head with a small smile on his lips. 

Keith flipped him off and rolled over before Lance could make his offended face™. “Night,” he yawned, closing his eyes and waiting for sleep. 

 

* * *

 

Lance hadn’t always lived in Altea; back before the sudden surge of bright ideas and inventions he lived with his family on one of the islands in Cuba. It was a small fishing village, one that was teeming with friendly faces and new adventures. Lance had learned to swim at a young age, he loved to be in the ocean and swim with the fish. His mama always said he spent more time in water than on land.“You must be a fish,” she would joke, pretending to search for gills on his ticklish neck. He got into a habit of waking up with the sun; so he could start each day swimming and making jokes with the fisherman preparing their boats for the day. 

The habit stuck with him, even now, he still woke up with the sun. The faint light of the sunrise fell across Lance’s face as he sat up, rubbing his eyes and taking in his surroundings. He took a second to remember the events of last night, looking down to the floor where Keith snored loudly. Lance frowned, taking his pillow and hurling it at Keith’s snoring face, “wake up and shut up.”

Keith made a sound of surprise as the pillow hit its target. Then, he sprung up, tackling Lance so hard that he fell off the other side of the bed. Lance hit the floor with an “ _ oomph!” _ , Keith following and landing across Lance’s stomach. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Lance managed to wheeze out after being crushed by Keith’s body.

“Me? What’s wrong with you?” Keith yelled, still draped across Lance’s midriff. 

“You just fucking tackled me?” Lance yelled back, still dazed from the impact of the floor and Keith.

“Well, you threw shit at me,” Keith huffed, as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“So you  _ attacked  _ me??” Lance couldn’t believe that he was having this conversation.

“Well  _ sorry  _ for not being used to waking up by being assaulted! Why are you even up this early? What kind of person wakes up at 5 in the morning??”  

“A healthy person with glowing skin,” Lance said matter of factly.

Keith let out a huff of annoyance. “Glowing skin my ass,” he grumbled.

Lance’s comeback was delayed by a knocking on the door. “Lance? Keith? I heard a bang, is everything okay? I’m coming in,” came Allura’s voice, tinged with worry. 

“Get off of me!” Lance said wriggling under Keith’s torso. Keith got to his feet, just as Allura opened the door. 

Her gaze went from the frowning Keith to Lance still lying on the floor. She sighed, “are you two fighting on your first day back?” 

Lance sat up, pointing an accusing finger at Keith. “He started it!” 

Keith crossed his arms and turned to look down at Lance, “seriously?” 

“You two better learn to get along, seeing how not only are you roommates but you’re also going on a mission together today.” Allura said, before the two could start bickering again.

“Look I’m all for a mission, but with him? Come on Allura,” Lance groaned.

“Don’t start Lance,” Allura said, turning to leave, “and it won’t be that bad, Hunk and Pidge are coming too. Just go get them from work, they’ll explain the job.” She waved goodbye as she left the room, leaving the two in silence.

Lance lit up at the mention of Hunk, and even though he didn’t know who Pidge was, anything was better than being alone with Keith. He glanced back to the mullet haired boy who, to his surprise, was smiling. Lance decided not to ask, instead going to wash up. 

 

* * *

 

After Lance had finished getting ready, they stood outside the club in the early morning sun. Lance set off, heading in the direction of Hunk’s restaurant which was conveniently close. 

“Where are you going?” Keith said, speeding up so he was walking ahead of Lance, “Pidge’s shop isn’t that way.”

Lance frowned and increased his speed, “I was going to Hunk’s.”

Keith followed in suit, speed walking ahead again. “Why? Because you have no idea where to go?”

“No, I could easily find Pidge’s shop.” Lance replied, practically jogging so he was in front of Keith.

“Oh yeah?” Keith grinned smugly at Lance, “then how about a race?”

Lance didn’t like the superiority in Keith’s voice. “Sure, if you’re prepared to lose, mullet head.” 

Keith smirked. “Good luck finding where she works, see you there.” Keith gave a little wave, then sprinted full speed around a corner and out of Lance’s sight.

Lance had no time to be surprised, if he lost this race he’d never hear the end of it. He took off running towards Hunk’s, cursing Keith and his stupid race. 

Not even a minute passed before Lance was opening the doors of Hunk’s restaurant. He rushed past the customers, nearly colliding with several waiters on his way to the kitchen. Lance whisked into the steaming kitchen, immediately locating Hunk, who was currently pumping water into a brass pot. “HUNK NO TIME TO EXPLAIN WHERE DOES PIDGE WORK?” He yelled over the sound of clattering plates and sizzling food.

Hunk gave him a confused look, “she works just up the street at the trade shop but Lance what is this ab--” 

Before Hunk could finish his sentence Lance was running out the doors, and through the restaurant. He burst out of the building and bounded up the street, stopping at a shop just a little ways from the restaurant. The doors were open and there was a giant sign complete with lanterns that said ‘Traders’ in big metal letters.

Glancing back down the street, Lance still saw no Keith in sight. Just Hunk running down the street after him, wheezing as he grew closer. Lance didn't have time to wait, instead he ran inside, nearly knocking over a small child in his haste. “Hey, watch it!” Said the kid, adjusting their round glasses and frowning at him.

Lance didn't even look in their direction, instead leaning on the counter in the back, trying to look casual. 

Since his attention was on what to do with his hands to look the most at ease, he didn’t see the child pick up a wrench and raise it, clearly about to beat the shit out of him.

“Wait! Don’t hurt him, he’s just an idiot,” Hunk panted, coming through the open doors and waving frantically. 

The kid sighed and lowered the wrench, muttering something about never having any fun. 

Just then, Keith came sprinting in, laughing to himself as he slowed to a stop. His gaze fell on Lance and his smile turned into a look of shock.

“Took you long enough.” Lance said smugly, grinning gleefully as Keith's eye twitched.

“Can someone explain to me what the fuck is going on here?” Said the small child. 

“I just tasted sweet, sweet victory,” Lance bragged, turning to look at them. They had light brown hair that stuck up in all directions and round glasses that took up half of their face. “Pretty cool, right kid?” 

“Kid?” Asked the child, tone darkening as they frowned up at Lance. 

“Oh my god Lance, how much of an idiot are you? That’s Pidge,” Keith said, rolling his eyes as he walked over to join them.

Lances mouth fell open. “That’s Pidge? But…she’s so-“ Lance stopped himself from finishing, the look on Pidge’s face one of warning. “So tall for her age?” 

Hunk sighed and resignedly wrapped his arms around Pidge, holding her back as she tried to lunge at Lance, “I’m 18, you pleb!” She yelled, brandishing her wrench. 

Lance held his hands up in surrender, “sorry sorry.” He said quickly, shooting Keith a look when he snickered. 

“Alright guys come on, we’ve got to start the mission soon.” Hunk said, hesitantly releasing Pidge from his grasp. 

“Fine,” Pidge grumbled, crossing her arms and walking over to Keith, where he smiled at her and raised a hand for a fist bump.

“Good job nearly beating up Lance,” he said to which she nodded, fist bumping him with a smile.

Before Lance could say anything, Hunk started to explain the plan. “Okay so we’ve been informed that some Galra higher ups are having a meeting at a place called Zarkon’s Tavern. It’s a very popular place with Galra citizens, so if we just walk in we’ll be stopped immediately. The plan is to go undercover and try to find out what the meeting is about.” 

Lance had started grinning halfway through Hunks explanation, and now he burst out saying, “we get to go undercover? That’s awesome! I’ll be Lord Lunce the Third.” 

Pidge snorted, “sorry to inform you my lord but our undercover identities have already been picked.” 

“Am I someone cool?” Lance asked. 

“You’re the driver of an automobile.” Pidge adjusted her glasses with a smile, “for Keith.” Keith smirked at Lance as she continued, “he’s the only one going inside, we’re waiting in the car.” 

“That’s not fair!” complained Lance, “why is Keith the only one allowed to go in?” 

“Cause Keith was the one that found out about the meeting, and he’s been undercover before,” Pidge explained. 

Hunk put a hand on Lance’s shoulder, “the getaway driver is the most important part, of something goes wrong you’re the saviour.” 

Lance smiled at his friend, thankful for his attempt at making Lance feel better. 

“The automobile is out back,” Pidge said, looking Keith up and down. “Now all we need is some fitting clothes for you.” She walked through the clutter, disappearing behind a shelf filled with clocks. “I have some fancy looking clothes here somewhere.” 

She returned in a second with a bundle of clothes in hand and gave them to Keith, who looked at them with distaste. “Don’t bother complaining, I don’t care if they’re not your style. You can’t just go waltzing in there with a leather jacket and those dirty ass boots.” 

Keith gave her a light punch as he walked by, “they’re not that dirty.” 

After Keith went to the back to change, Pidge turned her attention to Lance and Hunk. “We might as well wait in the automobile.” 

They followed her outside to the alley behind the shop. Lance’s mouth dropped at the sight of the brand new looking automobile. “How’d you get one of these anyway?” 

“We found it broken on the side of the road in the slums, Keith fixed it up,” Pidge said.

Lance stared at her in disbelief, “Keith fixed it?” 

“Yeah, he's probably the best mechanic in Altea. It’s a shame he has almost no customers. But he’s really helped Voltron.” 

As Pidge finished speaking, Keith came out of the shop, frowning as usual. Lance had to hold back a laugh at his outfit. He had on a white shirt with overly puffy sleeves bunched near his hands. On top of that was a black waistcoat that looked too tight. His hair was slicked back and he had on a pair of overly wrinkled pants. The whole look was topped off with a black hat made of what looked like velvet.

“Well, don’t you look just dandy,” Lance snickered, earning a snort from Pidge and a glare from Keith. 

“Shut it,” Keith grumbled, flipping them off as he climbed into the back of the automobile. Hunk and Pidge followed in suit, leaving Lance to get in the front. “Alright, how hard can this be?” He said to himself, gripping the wheel.

* * *

 

After a perilous ride where Lance demonstrated his skill for nearly crashing into every object in his path; the slightly more beaten up automobile was parked in front of Zarkon’s Tavern. 

“Remind me why Allura chose Lance to drive?” Pidge asked, letting go of Keith’s arm where she had been gripping tightly. 

Hunk took a pause from hanging his head out of the window to say, “she wanted him to be included on his first mission back,” before turning slightly green and spinning back out to retch.

“Bad idea,” mumbled Keith, looking queasy. 

Lance turned over to give them all a scathing look. “You try driving an automobile for the first time in your life. I did great considering the circumstances.” 

Hunk gave Lance a shaky thumbs up, head still out the window as Keith and Pidge simultaneously gave him a look. Keith shook his head and opened the door. “By the time I’m back in this car, Lance better not be driving.” Lance stuck out his tongue at Keith’s back as he disappeared into the tavern, trying to brush off the way everyone's remarks stayed in his head.

 

* * *

Lance sighed, tapping his foot in impatience, “how long has he been in there for?” He asked, turning to face the other two. 

Pidge opened her coat, revealing an inside covered in pocket watches of all sizes and designs. “About ten minutes,” she said, closing her coat and ignoring Lance’s stare of incredulity. 

Lance groaned and stretched his arms out, hitting the roof. “I’m booooored, what if something's going wrong?” 

“What could go wrong in only ten minutes?” Hunk asked.

“Nothing,” Pidge said flatly. 

There was silence, then the sound of a automobile door being opened. “Lance what are you doing?” Hunk said in surprise as Lance climbed out. 

“I’m just going to take a peek, I won’t get caught don’t worry.” Lance reassured, ignoring Hunk and Pidge’s protests as he walked through the tavern door. 

The tavern was dark, with lamp post like lights in some corners of the room. There was a piano in the corner; although unlike the Five Lions where music was always spilling from the stage, it sat empty and unused. There were leather stools lined up against a bar and several tables scattered around. A quiet murmur could be heard throughout the room, every conversation seeming secretve and important. 

Lance spotted Keith, sitting on a stool and talking-- no, arguing— with the bartender in hushed tones. He figured it would be best for Keith not to see him, keeping his head down as he passed the bar and found himself in front of a wooden door with a paper sign with the hastily scribbled words, staff only. He glanced over at the bartender, who was still wrapped up with Keith, and quickly slipped in through the door. 

He winced at the sudden light of a corridor, the oil lamps burning on the walls casting a bright but flickering light on the wooden floor. There were doors on either side, similar to the upstairs dorms of the Five Lions. 

There were voices coming from one of the doors to his right, and he walked over and put his ear to the wood. 

“No I told you, it’s on the 30th of this month.” Came a gruff voice.

“And it will be held in the Clolis tower?” A higher voice asked.

“Yes. Look, I’m all for a ball, but why?” Yet another voice chimed in.

“It’s a celebration. On feature at this ball will be the thing to change all things.” The gruff one said.

“I don’t think I understand,” said another voice quietly.

“You know those pesky rebel forces? The ones that call themselves Voltron? This is something that’ll wipe them off the playing field. There will be an auction for the weapon at the ball.” The gruff voice said proudly. 

Lance’s eyes widened. Wipe them out? All of Voltron? How was that even possible? He took a step back, legs shaking.The board his foot landed on creaked under his weight loudly.  The voices in the room stopped abruptly, the silence a sign of warning.

Before Lance could leave the corridor, the door flew open, a tall buff man with stubble staring down at him in anger. 

“Whoops, this isn’t the bathroom,” Lance laughed nervously, backing up to the door. The man frowned at him, reaching for what looked like a gun handle tucked into a holster on his waist. 

Lance wasted no time in bolting through the door and into the tavern. “KEITH WE’VE REALLY GOTTA GO!” He yelled, throwing all subtly to the wind as he raced through the tavern. 

Keith looked at him with surprise and anger, walking up to him swiftly while hissing, “ _ What are you doing? _ ”

Lance pointed to the door, where the tall man had burst out, gun in hand. He looked around the room, spotting Lance and Keith within a few seconds.  He lunged forward, aiming the gun at the two.

Keith sprung into action, pulling Lance to the door leading outside quickly. He threw open the door and ran out, leaving Lance to sprint after him. As Lance followed Keith out into the street, the man reared around the corner of the door, shooting his gun with surprising precision at Lance. The bullet shot through his mechanical leg at a weak point that the Galra had never gotten around to fixing. Lance fell to the ground as his leg started steaming, gears clattering to the ground and wires hanging from the hole. The man shot another bullet, this one barely missing Lance’s back, instead hitting his arm. 

“Shit!” Lance cried, taking a sharp intake of breath. He tried to stand, wobbling as he struggled to take a step. Suddenly he felt himself being picked up, he looked up in surprise at Keith, who began running with Lance held tightly in his arms.

“I CAN WALK MYSELF, PUT ME DOWN MULLETHEAD,” Lance yelled, struggling as Keith neared the automobile.

“DON’T BE AN IDIOT, YOU HAVE A HOLE IN YOUR LEG,” Keith yelled back, reaching the automobile and hastily throwing Lance into the front seat. He climbed in the other side and started the engine, stomping on the gas pedal so the automobile lurched forward into the road. 

“Well, at least you got your wish; I’m not driving,” Lance said in a half hearted attempt at a joke. 

“It wasn’t worth it,” Keith mumbled under his breath, almost too quiet for Lance to hear.

But before Lance could say anything in return, the silence was ended as Pidge’s voice resounded in the car, “WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED??!”

Lance winced, opening his mouth to speak but was cut off by Hunk’s own yell of shock, “LANCE! WHY IS YOUR LEG STEAMING?? IS THAT  _ BLOOD _ ??” 

Keith’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, “Yeah Lance, I’m wondering the same fucking thing.” Any softness from the previous remark completely gone. 

“I found the meeting,” Lance said hesitantly, lowering his eyes to his smoking leg that was sending shocks of pain from the place it met with his skin. 

Keith looked conflicted, knuckles white on the steering wheel.

“HEY GUYS? CAN WE DISCUSS THIS LATER? LANCE IS CURRENTLY BLEEDING?? AND HIS LEG?? WE NEED TO GET HIM TO A DOCTOR?” Hunk said almost hysterically. 

“Calm down Hunk buddy, I’m fine,” Lance said comfortingly, throwing aside the fact that he was  _ not  _ fine. 

“No, you’re not,” Keith said, “you and your leg just got shot.” 

“The bleeding is from a BULLET??” Hunk asked, worry evident in his panicked voice.

“It’s just my arm, I can barely feel it,” Lance lied.

“A doctor can help with the arm, but there’s nothing they can do for your leg,” Pidge said, then added, “luckily we have a great mechanic with us.” She nudged Keith’s back as she finished her statement. 

“Yeah, I’ll fix your leg, after the doctor treats you arm. I don’t want your blood all over my workshop,” Keith agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

Lance grimaced, bouncing his good foot absentmindedly. The bullet wound in his arm throbbed; and although the steam from his mechanical leg had stopped, the hole had widened and several parts had been lost. 

Keith had drove them back to the Five Lions and after he explained what had happened to Shiro, Shiro offered to take Lance to the doctor. He was now sitting next to Lance, throwing him worried glances. “We won’t have to wait much longer,” he said, patting Lance’s shoulder comfortingly. 

Lance smiled, he appreciated Shiro coming along with him. If he had been left alone his thoughts would have become cluttered. Guilt weighed him down, and thoughts of him messing up the mission swirling through his mind. Sure he found out some information, but it wasn’t enough to make any plans of infiltration. It wasn’t worth the way things ended, and Lance cursed himself for being impatient. 

“Don’t beat yourself up about it, the information you got was valuable.” Shiro said, as if reading Lance’s thoughts. “It’s a great start and I’m sure there will be more meetings about it to infiltrate.”

“Thank you Shiro,” Lance said, feeling slightly better at his kind words. 

“I’m ready for you Lance.” Came the voice of a tall tan man walking out of the office. His hair was a light brown and he had a pair of glasses perched atop his nose. He was looking at a clipboard and when he raised his gaze to rest on the two of them, his face broke into a smile. 

Lance stood up, as did Shiro. Shiro walked over to him, resting his arm on the counter and smiling, “fancy seeing you here Adam.” 

Adam laughed and gave him a soft smile, “idiot, I have more important things to do then flirt with you.”  He gestured to Lance. “Would you really let this poor boy wait any longer for the care he needs?” 

Shiro’s lips formed a pout as he asked, “what could be more important than me? But I guess you’re right, as usual. We should get you fixed up, Lance.” 

As they followed Adam into his office, Lance leaned over and whispered, “he’s totally into you, you should ask him out.”

Shiro chuckled, “I already did that years ago,” and when Lance gave him a confused look he continued, “he’s my husband.” 

Lance’s mouth dropped open, followed by a grin. He nudged Shiro's arm, “daaaamn Shiro, getting some.” 

Adam turned around, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at Shiro, who shrugged, smiling. “Lance, could you sit here please?” He said, patting a chair. “Let’s take a look at that arm.” 

 

* * *

There was something calming about tinkering for Keith. The sounds of gears turning and bolts being screwed on tighter. There was a rewarding feeling to seeing something you made or fixed spark to life. It was an escape, took his mind off problems and doubts. It also was a great way to pass the time. Currently, he was working on his bike. It didn’t need to be fixed but Keith needed something to do while he waited for Lance. 

The sound of a voice startled him out of his thoughts, and he jolted, banging his head on the bottom of his bike. Keith slid out from under it, cursing as he rubbed his head. He stood up, trying to wipe the grease from his face with the crook of his arm. It only smeared it more. He looked across his cluttered workshop to see Lance standing in the doorway. 

“Hey, nice ponytail mullethead,” he said with a smile, leaning on the doorframe. 

Keith scowled. “Maybe you shouldn’t irritate the person who’s gonna fix your leg.” He crossed his arms. “Come on, I haven’t got all day.”

Lance jutted out his lip in a pout. “What, you’re not gonna help me? I’m  _ injured _ .” 

Keith did not appreciate the puppy dog eyes Lance threw at him. He sighed, reluctantly walking over to Lance and putting an arm around him to steady him.

As he helped Lance to a bench, he couldn’t help but notice how warm Lance was against his side. And although he tried to ignore it, he could also smell a faint waft of cinnamon. Not that it mattered, it wasn’t like Keith liked the way Lance smelled. Absolutely not.

“Wow man, you’re really sweaty, you should get like a towel or something.” Aaaand there it was. Keith let go, letting Lance fall unceremoniously on the bench. It was easy to forget the way Lance smelled when he was talking. “Hey ow! Stop abusing your patients,” Lance said, crossing his arms with yet another pout.

Keith ignored him, searching through his shelves for the necessary parts. After gathering what he needed, he sat down on the bench next to Lance. “Give me your leg,” he said, gesturing to his lap.

“I’d love to, but the Galra attached it pretty tight,” Lance said, stifling a laugh like he found himself funny.

Keith threw him a deadpan look. “You know what I mean.” 

“Fine,” Lance sighed, reaching down to hoist up his leg onto Keith’s lap. “You’re no fun.”

Keith shrugged, not really listening, and instead focusing on inspecting the hole in his leg. There was a lot of damage, nothing he couldn’t fix of course, but it was something easily avoidable. “How’s your arm?” Keith asked while grabbing a screwdriver.

Lance grinned. “It hurts like a bitch, but Adam said it was too dangerous to remove the bullet so now I’ll be a badass with a bullet in my arm.”

Keith frowned, removing a broken pipe from the inside of Lance’s leg. “So you’re happy? About a bullet being stuck inside you forever? Do you prefer that over, oh I don’t know, not being shot?

Lance’s grin fell. “well, of course the latter but--” 

“What about this hole in your leg? Is it another badass accomplishment? I can’t fix everything, you know.” 

Lance looked away and Keith knew he should stop but anger welled up inside him. “You could have died! What were you thinking? What part of stay in the car don’t you understand?”

“You were taking a while...and I just thought—“

“You thought what? You didn’t know anything about the bar, or its customers. What if one of your captors was there?”

Lance’s voice got a little louder, “well they weren’t, and I got valuable information.”

Keith laughed mirthlessly, fiddling with his screwdriver. “You were stupid. You should have  _ waited _ . I could have gotten all the information instead of just half. I know you were a great part of Voltron, but you were gone for  _ 3 years _ . Things have changed, you can’t just rush in like that. I honestly don’t know why Allura even chose you for this mission. I spent weeks researching the meeting and then you came waltzing in and ruined it. You do know neither of us can go back there again? They know our faces. You’re lucky you didn’t get more hurt. If you keep acting like an idiot, one day it won't just be your arm that gets shot.”

Silence followed Keith’s outburst. The only sound was of him finishing up Lance’s leg. He wished he hadn’t let his temper get the better of him, it was almost weird without Lance’s terrible jokes. But he had to say  _ something _ , Lance was a valuable asset to the team. When Lance got shot of course he was worried, he would be about anyone. And when he glanced up to see the shocked look on Lance’s face of course he felt a pang of guilt, anyone would, but Keith steeled himself. He barely knew Lance. He said what had to be said, and if it made Lance look so… dejected, then it must have worked.

“M’ finished,” Keith mumbled, screwing the last of the bolts into the new metal. 

Lance immediately removed his leg from Keith’s lap, and stood up, testing his leg hesitantly. “Thanks,” he said quietly, giving Keith a half hearted wave, before leaving quickly, like he was trying not to spark another outburst.

Keith felt like shit.

 

* * *

Keith sat on a stool in front of the bar in the Five Lions, spinning his empty glass slowly. Coran had been throwing him worried glances for the past hour, mustache twitching as he washed cups. Keith ignored him, he wasn’t in the mood to talk. 

Lance had been sent to his room for ‘rest’ as Allura called it. Keith sighed, he would have to sleep on the couch downstairs, he didn’t want to… intrude on Lance’s rest. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone sit on the stool next to him. “Hey Keith,” said Allura, giving him a slight smile.

Keith grunted, continuing his spinning. 

Allura exchanged looks with Coran, Keith closed his eyes. 

“So, I was just wondering. When I told Lance that he needed to rest for a few days, he didn’t argue. Knowing him he usually would be complaining my ear off.”  She laughed softly, “not that I mind the peace and quiet but it’s not like him. Do you know if anything happened?”

Of course Allura knew, or at least suspected that Keith was the reason. She was smart, and Lance and Keith had been fighting since day one. He might as well tell her what she already knew. “We got into a fight… or rather,” Keith swallowed, “I yelled at him.” He focused on twirling his cup, “I got mad at him for leaving the car, told him he was an idiot.”

Allura nodded and gave him a reassuring look. “I can tell you feel pretty bad about it.”

Keith shrugged, looking down to the wooden counter.

“The thing about Lance is that even though he likes to rush into things sometimes, he’s really good at what he does. That was his first mission back, and although what he did wasn’t very professional, I get why he did it. Anyone would be eager to do something useful again after being gone for so long. Lance is one of our most talented members, but he doesn’t believe that. Whatever you said to him, he had probably already told himself. He’s just… he’s so hard on himself.”

After listening to Allura, Keith felt even worse. Of course he had to pick on the guy who doesn’t think he’s good enough. 

“You know, Lance isn’t one to hold grudges. Why don’t you try apologizing, or getting him a gift?” Allura suggested, as if she sensed Keith’s distress. 

It wasn’t a bad idea, except Keith knew nothing about Lance. But he bet Hunk would know, and maybe if he was really subtle, Hunk wouldn’t catch on. “Thanks Allura.” He said, giving her a small smile.

 

* * *

 

Compared to the floor, the couch was a welcomed improvement. Although the circumstances were not as welcomed.  But at least Keith’s neck didn’t ache as he walked up to where Hunk was chatting with Pidge. “Hey gang, what’re we up to today?” Keith could tell by the weird looks on both their faces that he sounded way too cheerful.

“I was just about to head to the market. Are you feeling okay buddy?” Hunk said, reaching up to feel Keith’s forehead.

“Yup totally fine! Mind if I come along?” Keith smiled, watching as Pidge and Hunk exchanged glances.

“Sure?” Hunk said, raising an eyebrow. Sure, Keith and Hunk were friends, but they never really hung out. Keith tended to be with Pidge most of the time.  

“See you later Pidge,” Hunk said, waving as he started to leave.

Keith waved too, catching up to Hunk. “Sooo, what are you shopping for?” He asked, feeling a bit awkward.

“A new pan, my favourite one broke.” Hunk sighed, “The other ones in the kitchen just don’t work for me.”

Keith nodded sagely, he might as well pretend he knew something about cooking. He had to be extra subtle about this. Hunk was Lance’s best friend, if Hunk found out about the whole present thing, Lance would too. And then Keith would never hear the end of it.

As they entered the marketplace — a bustling array of vendors and travelling merchants that were always busy, no matter the time — Keith supposed he should subtly turn the conversation to Lance. “So Hunk, how long have you known Lance?” He said, looking as nonchalant as possible.

“Oh wow, for about as long as I can remember. We’ve been friends ever since we were kids.” Hunk said, looking at a display of goggles for sale.

“That long huh? Man, birthdays must be hard, what does Lance even like?” That was a pretty subtle attempt, maybe this would be easier than Keith originally thought.

“No not really, when you’ve known Lance as long as I have, it’s pretty easy to get him a good gift.” 

Damn it. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. Keith inspected a table filled with all sorts of guns, “oh yeah? What would a good gift for him be?” 

Hunk stopped walking, coming up to look at the guns with Keith. “Why?” He asked with a smile.

Keith tensed up, Hunk was catching on. “Oh you know hahah… just curious.” He leaned down to get a closer look at the guns, hoping Hunk wouldn’t notice his nervousness.

Hunk nodded, leaning down as well, “right right, nothing to do with that fight you had last night?”

Keith straightened, starting to walk off, of course Hunk knew about the fight. Best friend rules. “Oh no, of course not, why would I get him a gift?” 

Hunk followed him, giving him a disbelieving look. Keith sighed, dropping the act. “Fine. Maybe I was too hard on him. It was his first mission back after all. I was just gonna get him a little gift to apologize. I would do it for anybody in his position.”

“Really?” Hunk said, tapping his chin, “cause I remember a certain newbie who got into a fight with you. Pretty sure when Allura asked you to apologize, you told her it wasn’t your fault she was letting premature idiots onto the team. Didn’t that guy leave like a week later?”

Keith looked away, “That was different, he was an actual idiot.”

“Mhm.”

“Look man, are you gonna help me or not?” Keith huffed, crossing his arms.

Hunk laughed, “oh I’ll definitely help. Gotta get my boy Lance feeling better.” He stopped to sort through some pots and pans, “what did you have in mind?”

Keith thought for a moment, he hadn’t really thought of any ideas. His plan was to basically rely on Hunk and that was it. “What about a wrench? So he can fix his own leg.” Hunk didn’t laugh at his joke. “Or uhm, does he like knives? I have plenty to spare.” 

“Why don’t you make him a shark? He likes those, and it turned out so well last time.” Hunk said with a chuckle, obviously joking. 

“A shark huh? Dangerous  _ and _ thoughtful.” Keith pondered, already picturing a mechanical shark. 

Hunk looked alarmed. “No wait Keith, that was a joke.” 

“I know,” said Keith, already turning to run down the street. “Thanks for your help!”

“Wait keith  _ we already tried to make him one!  _ It didnt work! ,” Hunk yelled after him in a panic. 

“That’s cause you’re not me!” Keith yelled back, giving the worried man a thumbs up. 

 

* * *

It had been two days since the market. Keith had been working almost non stop on his gift. Once he got into making something, he usually didn’t leave his workshop until it was finished. He had shelves of snacks and other essentials for when he had a big project. 

Pidge had stopped by a couple of times, succeeding in eating all of his snacks. She had also given him some ideas for the shark, like it being kinda small and chubby. Like a sausage with legs, but a shark. 

He finished adding the last touches, stepping back to admire his work. It was indeed small and chubby, honestly it was kinda cute. Except for its jaw full of sharp teeth and deliberate scaring on its snout. It’s fin was created in a way so that it looked sewn on to the rest of it. Keith had to at least make it look a little cool. He had also made it so the mouth was always a little open, so it almost looked like it was smiling.

He turned the silver windup key behind the fin, and watched to see if it would work. The shark twitched to life, waddling forward and snapping its jaws open and closed. Keith grinned, he was pretty proud of his creation. He hoped Lance would like it.  

 

* * *

 

 A few hours later, Keith stood in front of Lances room. He had showered and thrown on some clean clothes. He gripped Shadow in his hands (Shadow was a cool name for a cool shark, and not ‘edgy’ like Pidge said.)

The plan was to open the door, let Shadow in and leave. He carefully opened the door a bit, peeking in through the crack. Lance was sitting on the bed, staring at the floor. He looked like he hadn’t slept well. Keith frowned, guilty thoughts clouding his mind. He put the shark down, aiming it for Lance and winding it up. Then he let go and shut the door, pressing his ear to it.

He heard a shriek of surprise, then a thud. He smiled slightly, picturing Lance on the ground backing up as an iron shark waddled up to him. 

He stepped back, looking at the door for a moment. Then as he was about to leave, the door was flung open. “Who did this?” Lance asked, clutching the shark in his arms, smile wide. He stopped short when he realized Keith was right there, and his mouth fell open. “Keith? Did you get me a  _ shark _ ?” 

Keith rubbed his neck, feeling the tips of his ears go red. “Well I, uh, wanted to say sorry for the other day, and Hunk said you liked sharks, so, uh, so I made you one.”

Lances grin grew wider, “You  _ made  _ this? Your apology is a  _ homemade  _ shark?” 

“Is that...okay?” Keith wished he had left sooner.

Lance laughed, “ _ dude _ , that’s more than okay! This is the best apology ever.” 

Keith felt a wave of relief, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Cool.” 

“Did you name him?” Lance asked, holding out the shark to look at him. 

Keith suddenly felt embarrassed. “Um… it’s Shadow.” 

Lance almost dropped said shark. “You named him Shadow!? Oh my god, you’re more of an emo than I thought possible, mr fingerless gloves.” 

“Shut up, Shadow is a cool name,” Keith grumbled, although he had a small smile on his lips. It felt natural to be joking with Lance again. Keith almost missed the teasing. And Lance suited a smile much more than the look he had back in Keith’s workshop. 

Keith startled internally, why did he care anyway? He was happy to have Lance talking to him again. No, he was just happy he wouldn’t have to sleep on the couch anymore. It was his room too, and he liked sleeping in a bed… that, and Lances smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gotta thank my amazing friend for helping again !!!i would perish without her!!!  
> sorry this chapter was a little shorter. AlsOoo I know they've only known each other a couple of days but I mean, if a handmade apology shark doesn't start a friendship, then idk what does


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since Lance’s first mission and the 30th was growing closer with every day that passed. They still hadn’t managed to recover enough information to devise a plan and Allura was growing anxious. Lance was too but for once he actually had a distraction. Ever since Keith’s apology, the two of them had grown closer. Sure, they still fought but it was over stupid things like who could fit the most crackers in their mouth (it was Keith.)  Keith was actually a nice guy once you looked past the angsty exterior. And he helped Lance take his mind off the impending doom of Voltron.

“I’m booooorrred,” Lance groaned, shifting on the couch he was laying on. 

“Hey bored, I’m Keith,” came the deadpan reply. 

Lance threw Keith a disgusted look. “Did you just dad joke me?”

Keith shrugged, not looking up from where he was polishing his knife.

“You’re awful,” Lance said, burying his face in the cushions.

“No, I’m Keith.” 

Lance sat up straight, glaring at Keith, who now had a slight smile on his lips.

Luckily for Keith, Pidge came running in before Lance could beat him up. “Guys! Guess who found out how to get more info for the ball.” She said smugly, plopping down beside Keith.

Lance pretended to think for a moment, “Hunk?” 

Pidge ignored him, “Allura! I figured out how to get the rest of the information,” she yelled over her shoulder. 

“That’s splendid Pidge,” Allura said, walking over to lean on the back of the couch. 

“Okay so, you guys know the fair that takes place every year? Well, turns out the galra love to go to it, to cheat and just be dickheads in general. It’s not like anybody stops them. Anyway we make a booth with a carnival game and the prize is 10 minutes alone with Allura. It’ll work cause the galra are whores. Then once we take the sucker into the back, Keith and Lance will ambush them. And boom, we got ourselves a prisoner. Please, save your applause.” Pidge finished, bowing dramatically. 

“I don’t know Pidge,” Allura said, “couldn’t there be a different prize? I don’t like the idea of going into a dark room with a galra, even if Lance and Keith are there.”

“Not one that would get the galra alone, this is the only way we can get them into a dark space without them being suspicious. Besides it’s not like you can’t handle yourself.” 

“That’s what I’m worried about, I might punch them and ruin the mission.” 

Lance snickered; picturing a galra sobbing as they cradled a bleeding nose, with Allura towering above them brandishing her fist. 

Pidge smiled, “don’t worry, Lance and Keith will jump em before you can beat em up.”

“And you can have a go after we’ve captured them,” Keith pointed out.

Allura frowned, “all right, but what about normal people? I’m not exactly fond of the idea of snogging strangers.” 

Pidge grinned, “I’ll make it impossible to win unless you cheat. And if any citizens cheat I’ll just call them out. You won’t have to kiss anybody.”

Allura nodded, seemingly satisfied. 

“What about us?” Lance asked, gesturing to himself and Keith, “do we have to wait in a dark room until a galra comes along?”

Pidge sighed, “don’t worry Lance, I know you get restless. You and Keith will go around the fair, looking for galra to play our game.”

“Yes!” Lance exclamied, reaching out to Keith for a fistbump, which he returned halfheartedly. “I’ll show you  _ good  _ undercover work.” 

“When is the fair?” Allura asked.

“It’s in 2 days,” Pidge said, adjusting her glasses. “So I’ve really gotta go work on the booth, see you guys later!” She waved as she got up and left. 

 

* * *

“I don’t see the point of this,” Keith said flaty as Lance painted a purplish looking scar on his cheek.

Lance huffed, “that’s why I’m the smart one. Someone from the tavern could be there and recognize us.”

“Recognize  _ you  _ maybe,  _ I  _ was in disguise.” Keith reminded, crossing his arms.

Lance paused his painting, “Keith, your clothes may have been different, but anyone would recognize that god awful mullet.”

Keith backed up, “I’m not gonna let you cut my hair. I won’t go down without a fight.”

Lance let out a laugh, “calm down, I won’t cut your hair. We’ll just put it up.” He reached into his pocket for a hair elastic, “here, you can even do it yourself.”

Keith took the hair elastic hesitantly, glancing at Lance before pulling his hair up into a ponytail. “There, good enough?” 

“Almost.” Without thinking, Lance took a step forward, reaching out to tuck Keith’s bangs behind his ears. “There, that’s better,” he said, hand still lingering on Keith’s cheek. Without the heavy bang’s covering Keith’s eyes, Lance could actually see how pretty they were. They were dark but still distinctly violet, with flecks of goldrunning throughout the irises. It was almost hypnotic.

“Uhm,” Keith’s voice broke through Lance’s daze and he jumped back with a yelp.

“Yup, didn’t even recognize you, just making sure y’know. Galra could be smarter than they look, maybe they have a thing for faces or something, better safe than sorry hahahha.” Lance rambled, avoiding Keith’s gaze. 

“Oh uh, yeah that makes sense,” Keith said, also looking away. Lance noticed his cheeks were tinted red. Lance tensed, people turned red when they were angry right? Crap, just as they were becoming friends and Lance had to go and make Keith mad. 

He turned away from Keith, putting on a cap and snapping on his favourite pair of goggles. “How do I look?” He asked, spinning around and hoping the awkwardness between them would go away.

Keith nodded, “yup, you look different, that’ll fool em for sure.”

“Well then, I guess we should go meet Pidge and Allura.”

 

* * *

“Wow Pidge, you really outdid yourself,” Lance marveled, looking up at the booth. The massive sign was covered in multicoloured lights that flashed. The words ‘bottle toss’ were painted in a bright red paint. There was a record player on the shelf, playing an upbeat tune and the curtains to the back room were striped. Allura sat on a bench, looking reluctant to be there. 

“Thank you,” Pidge said, looking proud of herself. “A bottle toss is easy to rig, just use heavy metal bottles and a softball. It’s a super popular game so there's definitely gonna be more than one here. I’m sure the galra have a way to cheat and that’ll make em easy prey.”  

Lance grinned, “you scare me.”

Keith nodded,“the feeling is mutual.”

“Stop trying to flatter me and go get me some galra ass,” Pidge said with a shooing motion. 

“Roger that,” Lance said with a quick salute.Then he set out into the crowd with Keith following behind him. It was fairly busy, which was good for undercover work. “So I guess we just wander around until we find someone important looking,” Lance said absentmindedly, looking around the fair. 

It was hard to pay attention to all the people instead of the booths. Some of them were spectacular, with flashing lights and giant prizes and even the simple ones had a quaint appeal to them. Lance turned back to look at Keith, “Some of these are really cool huh.” 

“Uh huh,” Keith said, eyes elsewhere. Lance followed his gaze to a particular booth. It was a flashy shooting game and lined up on a shelf were hippopotamus plushies varying in size. Lance looked back to Keith, who was staring almost longingly at the stuffed animals. 

Lance placed a hand on his hip, smiling at the  ~~ cute ~~ idiotic boy. “Keith, do you want a hippo?” 

Keith snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Lance, “what? Uh, no. Let's continue the mission.” He avoided Lance’s gaze and started walking away. 

Lance sighed and grabbed Keith’s wrist, ignoring his sound of protest. “The mission is to walk around the fair, pretty sure this is part of the fair.” He dragged Keith to the booth, smiling at the man behind the counter. “Hi, what do I have to do to get that?” He asked, pointing at one of the large hippo plushies. 

The man smiled back and gestured to the targets on the wall behind him. “Just hit all of those and it’s yours.” He held up a rifle, “fancy a try?”

Lance took the rifle, letting go of Keith’s wrist, “seems easy enough.”

The man walked to the side, pulling a lever. The targets started moving up and down at a fast speed. “How about now?”

Lance just grinned, aiming the rifle. “Nothing a sharpshooter can’t handle.” He fired, hitting the first target smack in the middle. The rest of the game went in a similar fashion and was over in a flash. The look the man shot Lance as he handed over the plushie was just as satisfying as his win. He waved smugly as they walked off, turning to give Keith the stuffie. 

“Thanks, you’re pretty good at shooting,” Keith muttered, looking away. 

“Hmmmm~ what was that?” Lance hummed, leaning closer and smirking.

Keith frowned, crossing his arms around the stuffie, “you heard me idiot.”

“Is that any way to talk to the guy that just won you something?” Lance said, placing an offended hand to his chest. 

“I didn’t ask you to win it for me,” came Keith’s reply.

Lance laughed, “alright mr. tsundere.”

“Shut up Lance.”

“Awwwh come on-”

“No seriously, shut up and look,” Keith interrupted, pointing through the crowd. Lance followed his finger, eyes landing on a buff glara man.  

“That guy looks familiar,” he said, trying to remember where he’d seen the man before. 

“Yeah, he’s the guy that nearly killed you,” Keith said, scowling. “We should avoid him, he could recognize us.”

Lance took another look, conforming that it was the guy that shot him. “This is perfect! This is the guy we’re gonna use.”

Keith threw him an incredulous look, “did you not hear a word I just said? He’s dangerous and he knows what we look like.”

Lance smiled, “But, we’re in disguise, he’ll be easily fooled. Besides, he was one of the members of that meeting. He’ll for sure know all the details, we can’t just let this opportunity pass.” 

Keith sighed, glancing from the man to Lance. “Fine, but disguise or not we can’t just walk up to him.”

“I have an idea, follow my lead.” Lance said, setting off towards the man. He sat down on a bench near the man, gesturing for Keith to join him. “Man, did you hear about that bottle toss both over there?” He said loudly. 

Keith looked confused, brow furrowing as Lance waved his hands expectantly. Finally he said, “uh, no?”

Lance gave him a thumbs up, “Well get this, their prize is this really hot girl. If you win, you get 10 minutes alone with her.” 

Keith had caught on at this point, “whoa no way! You can do a lot of things in 10 minutes man.”

“Hell yeah man, I’ve tried like 3 times but I always lose.”

“Well maybe you’ve actually gotta be skilled to get the girl,” Keith said with a smirk.

“You’re right, guess I’m not man enough for that girl. I don’t think anyone’s won yet, so she’s still waiting for some big strong man to sweep her off her feet.” Lance said,looking over at the galra man ahead of them, who had turned slightly to listen. He turned his attention back to Keith, pointing in the direction of the booth and winking.

“Maybe I’ll give it a go, give her an example of someone talented,” Keith said, standing up and walking past the man towards the booth.

“Yeah right, I’m coming to watch you fail,” Lance said, running to catch up to Keith.

“Is he following?” Keith asked in a hushed voice when Lance reached him.

Lance glanced back as subtly as he could, to see that the man was indeed following them. He turned back around, grin in place, “he sure is.”

As they approached the booth Pidge gave them an expectant look, opening her mouth to say something snarky no doubt. But before she could, Lance gave a small shake of his head, gesturing to look behind them. As her eyes landed on the galra behind them, she broke out into a smile. “Back again so soon?”

Lance frowned, looking at Keith and saying loudly, “I already lost my confidence and my money, but this idiot would like to try for the 10 minutes.” 

“Yes, I would like to win some smooch time with the lady,” Keith said with an awkward smile. 

Lance had to stifle a laugh, raising an eyebrow at Keith, who looked embarrassed at his wording. 

Pidge’s smile grew, “Of course sir, step forward and try to win the beautiful lady, only 5 pence.” She said, gesturing to Allura, who gave a small curtsey. Keith stepped forward, putting down his hippo and handing Pidge the money. “All you have to do is knock over all the bottles and the lady will be yours.” She said, handing him three balls.

“That easy? I’ve got this in the bag,” Keith bragged, picking up the first ball and throwing it at the stack of bottles. The ball bounced off them, falling to the floor. The other two throws ended the same, the bottles not even budging, leaving Keith with a dissapointed look. 

Lance patted him on the back, “told you it was hard, I doubt anyone would be able to beat this game.” He said sympathetically. 

“I’d like to give it a try,” came a gruff voice behind them. The galra man stepped up to the counter, beside Lance and Keith.

“Certainly sir, did you already hear the rules?” Pidge asked in a sickly sweet voice. 

“Yes, here’s your money,” He said, throwing some coins at Pidge.

“Thank you sir.” She rolled the three balls over to him

He grabbed them in one hand, trying to pick them up. They all fell to the ground, “Sorry, I’ll get those.” He crouched down, taking out three balls from his coat and leaving the rubber balls where they were. 

Lance took that as their cue to get into position, pushing Keith as he walked away. They doubled around the corner of the booth next to theirs, walking behind the booths and into the small dark room of theirs. Then they waited, it wasn’t long until they heard Pidges over exaggerated congratulations. Then the curtains opened and the galra man and Allura came stumbling in. “God you’re hot, get ready for the best 10 minutes of your life,” came the galra’s voice. 

“Take me big man,” there was Allura’s signal, Lance jumped into action. The plan was for him to silence the man and Keith to get his arms. It was dark but Lance’s eyes had adjusted enough to see the silhouettes of the man and Allura. He walked up and pulled a piece of fabric across the man’s mouth, tying it quickly and giving the small of his back a kick. The man let out a muffled noise, falling forward where Allura had been a second ago. He hit the ground with a thud and Keith was there in a flash, binding his hands with ease. The man struggled, making unintelligible threats. Allura gave him a swift kick to the head, he went limp. 

“Allura--” Lance started.

“He used tongue,” Allura said, storming out of the room. 

Lance shivered, reminding himself not to make her mad. 

 

* * *

 

“You won’t get away with this,” The galra man, Mr big muscles as Lance had dubbed him, said. He was chained to the floor of a warehouse that only certain people knew existed. 

“Oh but we already have!” Lance laughed dramatically. 

Keith scoffed, leave it to Lance to make even an interrogation a joke. “Okay Lance, remember why we’re here.” He stepped forward, looking down at the man, “you’re going to tell us everything you know about the ball or we’re going to be here a very long time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished it ;-; I kinda stopped writing for a bit but I'm BAcK uhm so I hope you liked it!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

“You’re going to tell us everything you know about the ball or we’re going to be here a very long time.” 

The man not only didn’t speak, but also made a point of closing his lips tight. Keith felt his eye twitch, he’d never tried to get information out of someone before. Shiro always handled it, he was exceptionally good at it too. The years of watching Shiro work made Keith assume interrogation was a piece of cake. However, now that he was actually in the situation, his views on the whole interrogation thing had changed. But, Lance had insisted they did it themselves. 

“You bastard! I’ll get you to talk even if you lose your hearing in the process,” Lance spat, clearly enjoying himself. Keith decided to let him act on his threat, hey maybe it was a legit plan and not some joke.

Just as he finished thinking what could go wrong, Lance burst into a pitchy Spanish song. He swayed his hips and increased in volume, voice cracking on the especially high notes. Keith sighed, looking as displeased as the man currently being ‘tortured’. 

“Lance, I don’t think annoying him is going to work.” Keith said, stepping forward and laying a hand on the swaying boys shoulder. 

“Fine.” Lance said, “I’m going to get a drink, but when I get back you better prepare for the thunder!” He pointed in the man’s face then spit on the ground and walked out. 

Keith watched him leave, thinking of what methods he’d seen Shiro use in the past. He was trying to decide between trying to scare him or giving up and just punching the guy when the galra man spoke up.

“Your friend there is a joke right?” Keith turned to the man in surprise. “I mean he can’t be serious.” The man chuckled, “why do you have a fool like that on your so called saviour team Voltron?”

Keith couldn’t process what he was hearing. “What?”

The man grinned, “I remember him from the tavern, he’s the one that blew your whole mission. You don’t value a screw up like that, right? I’ve seen his face before, where was it? Oh yeah, he was the one we caught trying to free his precious parents. His attempt was sloppy and amatur, it’s no wonder he was captured. Was it worth the manpower rescuing him? Surely there are others we’ve captured that are actually skilled. It’s almost pathetic you decided to waste your time on someone that idiotic. You would have been better off if my shot hadn’t missed.”

Keith stood silent. The man started laughing, louder and louder, ringing in Keith’s ears. Then it stopped as abruptly as it started, “if you want I’ll get rid of him, free of charge.” 

 

* * *

 

Lance took a sip of his coffee, still too hot. He was thankful for the warmth on his hands in the cool fall air at least. He neared the warehouse, hoping Keith hadn’t broken him just yet. He reached the door, hearing muffled noise coming from inside. Lance slid open the door; revealing Keith crouched over the man, throwing punch after punch. Lance dropped his coffee, too stunned to move as he watched blood pool onto the floor as Keith kept striking. Then Lance was behind Keith, arms hooking under his armpits and dragging him away from the swollen man. “What are you doing?” Lance sputtered, struggling to keep Keith from launching back into his attack. 

Keith stopped moving, he was silent for a moment before untangling himself from Lance. He stood up, looking down at the man before he opened the door and walked out into the night. Lance watched him go, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

He turned to look at the man, who was currently coughing up more blood, his face severely bruised. “What happened?” Lance asked, confused. 

The man didn’t even look at him, just started chuckling hoarsely. “So this is the great team Voltron.” 

 

* * *

 

“And he just stormed out?” 

“Yeah he didn’t say a word, and  _ he  _ wasn’t helpful.” Lance replied, gesturing towards the chained man, who had stayed silent no matter what Lance tried.

Shiro gave lance a sympathetic look, “Sorry, Keith tends to shut himself off from people when something upsets him. But there is a place I know he likes to go when he needs to think.”  

 

* * *

 

Lance stretched his neck, looking to the very top of the building he was currently standing in front of. Shiro had taken over the interrogation after telling Lance where Keith would most likely be. Lance had expected something like a garage filled with machines or something edgy like a cave, but a high building? Lance recalled Keith telling him about how he had scaled the tallest tower in Altea but he hadn’t really believed that. Now this wasn’t the Clolis tower but it was still pretty damn high. 

“KEEEIIITTTH!” Lance yelled, hoping his voice would carry and Keith’s head would pop over the edge. When nothing happened, he sighed in defeat, rolling up his sleeves and resigning himself to the fact that he was about to climb a tower for some dude. 

Lance was fairly fit, and flexible as hell, but damn climbing buildings were hard. Lance clutched to a window sill for dear life; Keith’s thinking place just  _ had  _ to be on top of a building, it just  _ couldn’t  _ be something easily accessible. Lance raised himself up, looking in the window and making eye contact with an elderly lady sitting in a chair. He smiled awkwardly and kept climbing, hoping the shock of seeing someone outside her very high window wouldn’t cause a heart attack or something. He paused, breathing heavily, at this rate the lady wouldn’t be the only one with an accident. He looked up, he was so close, just a bit further. With a final spurt of energy he climbed up and hoisted himself over the rooftop ledge, landing with an ‘umph’ on his stomach.

He lay there for a moment, huffing and trying to regain his composure.  Finally he got up, spotting Keith sitting on the other side of the roof. “God dammit Keith,” he said, walking over to the boy. 

Keith raised his head to look at Lance as he sat next to him, “Lance? What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” Lance met eyes with Keith, “What happened man?”

Keith looked away, fiddling with his fingers absentmindedly. “Nothing.”

Lance took a deep breath, “I just scaled this very high building for you, I am  _ not  _ going to take nothing for an answer.”

Keith smiled faintly, “I guess you did.” He sighed and looked down at his hands, “When you left for a drink he started talking to me.”

“He?” Lance asked, confused.

“The galra guy, he started laughing and talking about how useless you are and how the team would be better without you.” 

Lance felt a pit in his stomach. He looked out at the city, the setting sun cast a hue of orangish pink over the buildings. “And do you… agree with him?” He asked in a soft voice, almost not wanting to be heard. 

There was a stretch of silence, long enough for Lance to get nervous and glance at Keith. Keith’s brows were furrowed and he was almost glaring at Lance. “Seriously?” Lance opened his mouth but was cut off before he could speak.

“You are in no way useless.” Keith said, crossing his arms with a frown. “I mean sure when I first met you I thought you were annoying and immature,” his expression softened, “but in the past few weeks I’ve gotten used to your style. Despite being silly at times, your plans are usually well thought out, and you brag a lot but in all honesty, you really are a great sharpshooter. And I admire how you can always stay cheerful even in the weirdest situations. I wish I could be more like you.” Keith smiled and looked back at the sunset, “so no, I don’t agree with him.”

Lance stared at Keith, mouth agape. His mind was racing as he tried to process the genuinely sweet words from Keith? Keith’s face was tinted pink from the setting sun, he looked calm and happy, completely different than in the warehouse. His smile wasn’t so bad, one could even call it beautiful. 

“Oh… coolcoolcool, good to know.” Lance mumbled, awkwardly aiming finger guns at Keith. Keith met Lance’s gaze with his violet eyes, Lance felt butterflies erupt inside his stomach. That was normal this high up, was the air thinner too? Surely that’s why he felt so light headed. 

  
“I see you found the drama queen!” Lance jolted in surprise at the sudden voice. “Down here!” Lance looked down over the edge and saw Shiro standing there, looking up at them. 

Keith scowled down at Shiro, “shut up before I spit on you.” 

Shiro laughed, “that galra man already finished your job.”

Lance noticed Keith tensed at the mention of the galra man, “so what happened with him anyway?”

Shiro grinned, “I got him to talk, I always do.” 

Lance stood up with excitement, almost losing his balance on the ledge due to the sudden movement. “You did???” He exchanged a glance with Keith, who smirked triumphantly, getting up as well. “We’ll be right down!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKay so this was a pretty short chapter but I wanted to actually post something and leave this one short and sweet. OOOoooOOOoooOps BUT I am writing chapter 6 and yeet theres gonna be some pininggg ;)

**Author's Note:**

> first of all I want to thank my wonderful friend who's helped me with everything from writers block to doubts!!!! ;-; her tumblr is wowusernamesarehardtomake if you wanna check her out  
> !!!!secondly, if you've read this far, thank you!!!!!! it means a lot to me :)  
> I got the inspiration for this from [](<div%20class=)<http://emuyh-art.tumblr.com/post/160916049852/steampunk-au-i-started-with-aku-usagi-3c>  
> if you have any questions or anything, you can talk to me on my tumblr, wowie-whoa


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